 | You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in Arabic. (May 2020)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
| Ali ibn Yusuf | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amir Al-Muslimin | |||||
_mint.jpg) Gold dinar minted by Ali ibn Yusuf | |||||
| Amir of the Almoravids | |||||
| Reign | 1106–1143 | ||||
| Predecessor | Yusuf ibn Tashfin | ||||
| Successor | Tashfin ibn Ali | ||||
| Born | c. 1084 Ceuta | ||||
| Died | 28 January 1143 | ||||
| Issue | Tashfin ibn Ali Syr ibn Ali Ishaq ibn Ali Zaynab bint Ali[1] Yahya ibn Ghaniya[2] | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Almoravid | ||||
| Father | Yusuf ibn Tashfin | ||||
| Mother | Zaynab an-Nafzawiyyah or Qamar | ||||
| Religion | Islam | ||||
Ali ibn Yusuf (also known as "Ali Ben Youssef") (Arabic:علي بن يوسف) (c. 1084 – 28 January 1143) was the 5thAlmoravid emir. He reigned from 1106 to 1143.
Ali ibn Yusuf was born in 1084–1085 (477AH) inCeuta.[3] He was the son ofYusuf ibn Tashfin, the fourthAlmoravid ruler. According to some sources, his mother wasZaynab an-Nafzawiyyah.[4][5] According to some others, his mother was Qamar or Qamra, surnamed Fadl al-Hasan,[3][6] aChristian captive fromal-Andalus who became Yusuf's concubine.[3] A woman Qamar is also cited by some sources as Ali Ibn Yusuf's own concubine[7][8] and the mother of his son Syr.[7]
At the time of his father's death, in September 1106, he was 23 years old. He succeeded his father on 2 September 1106.[9][10] Ali ruled from Morocco and appointed his brotherTamim ibn Yusuf [ar] as governor ofAl-Andalus. Ali expanded his territories in theIberian Peninsula by capturing theTaifa of Zaragoza in 1110.
The early part of his reign is notable for the Almoravids reaching the apogee of their dominance in Andalus. The Almoravid armies laid siege to the capitals of three Christian kingdoms in quick succession -Toledo (Kingdom of Castile) in 1114, Barcelona (County of Barcelona) in 1115 andCoimbra (County of Portugal) in 1117 but having failed in these sieges, their fortunes quickly reversed. Zaragoza, a major city and its surroundings was lost it toAlfonso I, King of Aragon from 1118 - 1120.Córdoba briefly rebelled against theAlmoravids in 1121.
The decade from 1120-1130 involved the bitter struggle with Alfonso I of Aragon known as the Battler, the border with Castile and Portugal remained stable however therein except with the loss of some notable forts near Toledo captured in the1109 campaign likeZorita andSiguenza. During this period, many Almoravid troops would be recalled across the straits to defend against the newly-founded movement of Ibn Tumart, the Almohads.
Tashfin bin Ali, his son and former governor of Granada, took the role of the governor of Al Andalus in 1126 and would in the following years until 1137 (the year of his departure to Morocco) lead the Almoravids to some notable victories (Aceca in 1130,Fraga in 1134,Badajoz in 1134, Escalona 1137) but he also suffered some losses therein. From 1138 onwards definitively the impetus was on the side of the Christians and the Muslims suffered major losses in raids and the capture of important fortresses (Oreja in 1139,Coria in 1142). This was in part due to the renewed offensive of the Almohads in Morocco.
In 1139, he lost theBattle of Ourique against the Portuguese forces led by countAfonso Henriques, which allowed Afonso to proclaim himself an independent King.
Ali died on 28 January 1143 and was succeeded by his sonTashfin ibn Ali.[11]
_(cropped_and_retouched).jpg)
He commissioned aminbar now known as theMinbar of the Kutubiyya Mosque from a workshop inCórdoba to furnish hisgrand mosque, the originalBen Youssef Mosque (destroyed under theAlmohads), in the imperial capital,Marrakesh.[13] TheAlmoravid Qubba also bears Ali's name.[12]
At the advice of Abu Walid Ibn Rushd (grandfather ofAverroes), Ali built walls around Marrakesh asIbn Tumart became more influential.[14][15] There had been walls around the mosque and the palace, but Ali ibn Yūsuf spent 70,000gold dinars on the city's fortifications, doubling the city's size, and told theamirs ofAl-Andalus to fortify their walls as well.[16]
He also established an irrigation system in Marrakesh, a project managed byObeyd Allah ibn Younous al-Muhandes.[17] This irrigation system made use ofqanawat (قناة, p.قنوات).[17] Ali also had the first bridge over theTensift River built.[17]
According to the Muslim cartographerMuhammad al-Idrisi, theMugharrarin (also translated as "the adventurers") sent by Ali ibn Yusuf, led by his admiral Ahmad ibn Umar, better known under the name of Raqsh al-Auzz reached a part of the ocean covered byseaweed, identified by some as theSargasso Sea,[19] which stretches into the Atlantic fromBermuda.
Ali was the son ofYusuf ibn Tashfin. He had at least two sons:
Zaynab bint Ali ibn Yusuf
Yusuf ibn Tasufin,..., married Zaynab an-Nafzawiyyah with whom he had three children: Ali ibn Yusuf, Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Aisa and Tamima bint Yusuf ibn Tashfin
Zeineb and Yusef ibn Tashfin had a son, Ali ibn Yusef ibn Tashfin, who is described as having an excellent character. He ruled until 1142–43 CE/537 AH. He was succeeded by Tashfin ibn Ali ibn Yusef ibn Tashfin. Legitimacy still passed through her even though her name was no longer affixed to his, at least in this account...Ghania's sons were raised under the patronage and supervision of Ali Ibn (Zeineb and) Yusef Ibn Tashfin
one example of a powerful concubine was Qamar, the mother of Sir, one of 'Ali b. Yusuf's sons
Qamar, 'Ali's favorite concubine...
| Preceded by | Almoravids 1106–1143 | Succeeded by |
Almoravid dynasty topics | |
|---|---|
| Rulers (c.1050s–1147) | |
| Architecture | |
| Currency | |
| History | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
